Anthropometric measurements and Darwinian fitness

Wh, Mueller; Gw, Lasker; Fg, Evans

doi:10.1017/s0021932000013511

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Income and education have pervasive effects on health and lifestyle, and the finding that the effect of height on reproductive success was insensitive to these factors suggests that there is a fundamental underlying biological process causing this effect. These findings are in broad agreement with the suggestion of Mueller et al (1981) who reported that ‘the curvilinear association of fertility and bone [length] does not appear related to socioeconomic factors in this sample’ (p. 164), although they did not provide direct quantitative support for this suggestion.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…The importance of testing for curvilinear effects is apparent from two re-analyses which found significant curvilinear effects, whereas the original studies reported no effect of height (Mitton 1975 re-analyzed Clark and Spuhler 1959; and we re-analyzed Damon and Thomas 1967). Furthermore, two studies conclude that their data show stabilising selection for height, without testing this statistically (Mueller et al 1981; Goldstein and Kobyliansky 1984). Out of the ten studies considering non-linear effects, eight appear to support a curvilinear relationship.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A curvilinear effect of height on reproductive success in human males

Stulp

Pollet

Verhulst

et al. 2011

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Human male height is associated with mate choice and intra-sexual competition, and therefore potentially with reproductive success. A literature review (n = 18) on the relationship between male height and reproductive success revealed a variety of relationships ranging from negative to curvilinear to positive. Some of the variation in results may stem from methodological issues, such as low power, including men in the sample who have not yet ended their reproductive career, or not controlling for important potential confounders (e.g. education and income). We investigated the associations between height, education, income and the number of surviving children in a large longitudinal sample of men (n = 3,578; Wisconsin Longitudinal Study), who likely had ended their reproductive careers (e.g. > 64 years). There was a curvilinear association between height and number of children, with men of average height attaining the highest reproductive success. This curvilinear relationship remained after controlling for education and income, which were associated with both reproductive success and height. Average height men also married at a younger age than shorter and taller men, and the effect of height diminished after controlling for this association. Thus, average height men partly achieved higher reproductive success by marrying at a younger age. On the basis of our literature review and our data, we conclude that men of average height most likely have higher reproductive success than either short or tall men.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00265-011-1283-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A curvilinear effect of height on reproductive success in human males

Stulp

Pollet

Verhulst

et al. 2011

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…Kung san men from Namibia (Kirchengast and Winkler, ), as well as in Gambian (Sear, ), Guatemalan Indian (Martorell et al, ), and rural Guatemalan (Pollet and Nettle, ) women. However, no relationship between height and fertility has been found in a number of studies involving men (e.g., Genovese, ; Goldstein and Kobyliansky, ; Kirchengast, ; Lasker and Thomas, ; Mueller et al, ; Nettle, ; Sear, ; Winkler and Kirchengast, ) and women (Clark and Spuhler, ; Helle, ; Lasker and Thomas, ; Mueller, ; Mueller et al, ; Nenko and Jasieńska, ; Scott and Bajema, ; Silventoinen et al, ). Conversely, studies on a large sample of Harvard alumni (Vetta, ) and a Wisconsin longitudinal sample of men (Stulp et al, ) showed an inverse U‐shaped relationship between height and number of children such that men of average height were more likely to have a higher fertility than either shorter or taller men.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is human mating for height associated with fertility? Results from a british national cohort study

Krzyzanowska

Mascie‐Taylor

Thalabard

2015

American J Hum Biol

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“…High levels of variability in the relationship between height and reproductive success across populations are perhaps also to be expected (if they are not simply the result Mueller, Lasker & Evans (1981) Mexicans in Mexico and USA 121 -? 159 -?…”

Section: (A) Female Height and Reproductive Outputmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary perspectives on human height variation

2014

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Human height is a highly variable trait, both within and between populations, has a high heritability, and influences the manner in which people behave and are treated in society. Although we know much about human height, this information has rarely been brought together in a comprehensive, systematic fashion. Here, we present a synthetic review of the literature on human height from an explicit evolutionary perspective, addressing its phylogenetic history, development, and environmental and genetic influences on growth and stature. In addition to presenting evidence to suggest the past action of natural selection on human height, we also assess the evidence that natural and sexual selection continues to act on height in contemporary populations. Although there is clear evidence to suggest that selection acts on height, mainly through life-history processes but perhaps also directly, it is also apparent that methodological factors reduce the confidence with which such inferences can be drawn, and there remain surprising gaps in our knowledge. The inability to draw firm conclusions about the adaptiveness of such a highly visible and easily measured trait suggests we should show an appropriate degree of caution when dealing with other human traits in evolutionary perspective.

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Anthropometric measurements and Darwinian fitness

Cited by 14 publications

References 1 publication

A curvilinear effect of height on reproductive success in human males

A curvilinear effect of height on reproductive success in human males

Is human mating for height associated with fertility? Results from a british national cohort study

Evolutionary perspectives on human height variation

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